Isn't that a sweet sentiment? I truly do wish that for each one of you. This time of year can be so full of activity, that we forget to ENJOY it. Here's to enjoying every minute of this wonderful time of the year!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

I was blessed to be part of the Sweet N Sassy Stamps design team back in 2009, and I remember that time with great fondness. The owner/illustrator/designer extraordinaire, Korin, is one of the most genuine and precious friends I've ever had the privilege of knowing. We share a deep faith in God, a love for stamping, and a whole lotta other commonalities too. She is just good peeps, and her designs are FABULOUS! So, it is an absolute honor to join in with the team today in wishing Sweet N Sassy Stamps a VERY happy 5th birthday!

For my card, I chose the ridiculously adorable Christmas Puppy stamp set. It is hands-down the cutest puppy stamp set I have ever seen! I used Copic markers to color the image, giving the boot warmth with the Toner blacks and touches of the E50's as well. The puppy began with E50 and has lots of the E30's in him as well. I wanted him to have a bit of a "dirty puppy" look. I added some texture and age to the boot by swiping on some Glossy Accents with a paint brush, leaving thin strips without any. I then sanded the glossy sections to dull them, which allowed those thin un-glossed areas to take on the appearance of cracks in the boot. It was fun to play around a bit, and I think I've achieved the appearance of a well-worn boot. You can click on the photo for a closer look.

The patterned papers are from Basic Grey's Aspen Frost 6x6 paper pad. The ribbon is old SU...works so perfectly with those papers, don't you think? I die-cut the circle with a Spellbinders Classic Circles die, and air-brushed it with my YG03 Copic marker. I also added a few rusty jingle bells to the bow, mimicking the bells in the image.

While you're hopping around today, keep in mind that we'll be giving away a $15 Sweet N Sassy Stamps store credit to FOUR of the commenters on our blogs. We can't say which four will have candy; so you'll want to be sure to comment on all of the blogs! You must leave your comment by midnight EST Friday, November 30th. Winners will be announced on the SNSS Blog on December 1st at 8am EST

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Today I have a card made using this week's MFT Weekly Sketch Challenge and the Pure Innocence Angel set. Isn't she precious?! I paired her with pretty patterned papers from the Lost & Found 3 Oliver collection from My Mind's Eye. The card base is Whip Cream, and the card size is 5-1/4" square. The sentiment was stamped with Memento Teal Zeal ink and die-cut using an Accent It - Flags & Tags DIe-namics die. The little tab at the top was made with the Rounded Banner STAX Die-namics. I added a Basic Grey brad, a few gold pearls, and some pretty ivory trim to finish it off. The image was stamped on X-Press It Blending Card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, die-cut with the Rectangle STAX Die-namics Set 1, and colored with the following Copic markers:

I decided to play with the new Jumbo Christmas Stocking Die-namics. I made a festive stocking banner using an assortment of MFT's high quality felt. I stitched the pieces together using a blanket stitch and some crochet thread.

Here's another angle:

Of course, I took the photos right in the middle of the day; so the sun was bright behind those curtains! I tucked in some yummy chocolate mint candy canes, and strung them on some rope trim.

For my second project, I gave a couple of plain hand towels a bit of holiday cheer with the Winter Wreath Die-namics and some Jellybean Green & Wild Cherry Felt. I used tacky glue to adhere the felt to the towels, with a few strategically-placed stitches to hold them securely in place. You could use fabric glue as well. I would not recommend hot glue, as the wreaths are delicate, and it would be difficult to hide the hot glue...and not burn yourself!

Here's a close-up of one of the wreaths:

This was a fun challenge! I have several more home decor projects rattling around in my brain, that I'll have to try in the very near future.

Be sure to stop by the MFT blog for full details on the challenge, as well as links to all the other designers who played along in today's challenge. Wait until you see what they've created!

I cut out the image panel with Spellbinders Classic Rectangles dies, and added a pretty ribbon, Champagne Pearls, and a pearly button to finish off the details....clean, fresh, and simple.

My own Mum is Scottish born and raised; so I was giddy to see the spelling of "Mum" in this set...perfect! I know all of my Canadian friends are jumping for joy at the addition of the letter "u" in the other sentiments of this set. I, personally, wish we spelled those words that way here in America...so much prettier, I think. :-)

The elves behind the scenes at Flourishes have been getting ready for a fun-filled BLACK FRIDAY SALE! It starts today, Friday, November 23rd! As they say, the early bird gets the worm with this sale because it will be a virtual door-busting progressive sale with better discounts the earlier you shop! So, save these codes and get ready to do some fun shopping! Make sure to tell “Santa” which of these goodies are on your list so he knows! All times are based on Central Standard Time. Codes are for percentage off total order and no back orders will be accepted. Discounts will not be applied to gift certificates or wholesale orders of any kind. Discounts will apply to all items already on sale – so check out our Gambler’s Sale items HERE! Prices will drop on this sale list again on Friday to 30% off. So, the time is now to buy with these additional discounts!

PLEASE NOTE: This sale must exclude Copic products due to MAP pricing requirements.

Remember that today is also the final day to get the New Release Bundle for 10% off! Happy shopping, friends!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

I used the adorable Pure Innocence Turkey Time stamp set, stamping the image on X-Press It Blending Card with Memento Espresso Truffle ink. I paper-pieced her dress with patterned paper from the Bo Bunny Apple Cider collection, which is the same collection of papers used on the rest of the card. I colored her in with the following Copic markers:

Thanks for stopping by, friends! Remember to use the keyword MFTWSC99 if you're playing along with the sketch challenge. Full details about the challenge, including what you can win, can be found on the MFT blog.

To all of my American friend, have a VERY happy Thanksgiving! May it be truly blessed!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Yes, that's a scrapbook page you see up there. It has been a looooong time since I've made a scrapbook page...shockingly long. I used to scrapbook on a fairly regular basis, and just fell out of the habit. So, when My Favorite Things began their monthly scrapbook sketch challenge, I jumped at the chance to start up again.

With that said, this page took me a crazy-long time to make. I knew I wanted to use the Simple Stories Handmade Holidays patterned papers, and our family photo from last Christmas, which I'm not so sure is the best combination I could have chosen. It's certainly busier than I would like; but there comes a point when you just have to walk away. I really should have taken a picture of my studio after I was finished making this page...what a mess I made! In the end, I am glad I did it, and look forward to my next scrapooking adventure. :-)

It did help that I had a great sketch to work with. I flipped it on it's side for my page. Here's the orignal sketch: